A coroner investigating the killing of two British troops in Iraq said yesterday that the soldiers should never have been allowed to enter the town where they were ambushed.The Oxford court was told that 24 hours before Staff Sergeant Simon Cullingworth, 36, and Sapper Luke Allsopp, 24, were murdered on March 23 2003, a journalist, Terry Lloyd, had been killed on the same road.Andrew Walker, the coroner, said the danger in which the soldiers were put should have been anticipated. "If the proper procedures had been followed then no one should have been allowed to use that route," the coroner said. "Headquarters knew that it was a dangerous area and they were advising people not to go near that area." He added that the "failure to adequately plan for and warn of the dangers was, in my view, a contributory factor to their deaths". ... http://www.guardian.co.uk

"Once again you've witnessed the weakness of priests," the Reverend Tom Skindeleski told the congregation at St Vincent Ferrer Roman Catholic church on Sunday.The weakness of two pastors at the church in Palm Beach, Florida left an $8.6m (£4.6m) hole in its collection plate, according to police.Church authorities were contrite. Very contrite."I'm truly, truly, truly sorry," the bishop said at Sunday Mass. "Priests are humans and they make mistakes," Rev Gerald Barbarito said. "Some make mistakes we can certainly understand. Others, not so. Sexual abuse, stealing money, we cannot understand this. Prayer is our strongest resource. The Lord is the only perfect one, and we rely on his strength." As parishioners left the church on George Bush Boulevard, they were asked to make contributions to a special collection marked "Debt relief" to aid the church.The two Irish pastors were charged last week with misappropriating the money over 40 years....http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1886033,00.html

They shun electricity, telephones and the court system to try to stay disconnected from a world they consider polluted by modern convention and comfort. But the rural seclusion the Amish have here in central Pennsylvania's rolling hills was shattered Mon by the execution-style shooting of 3 Amish girls in a one-room schoolhouse. "You read about it, you hear about it. But you don't expect it to happen this close to home," said John Fisher, 33, an Amish man who lives a half-mile from the school. The killings the girls were bound together and had to be cut apart by rescue workers according to the Pennsylvania State Police evastated the ordinarily composed Amish. Many were "crying and weeping and hugging, and the Amish people don't usually show too much emotion," said Annie Beiler, 66, whose farm abuts the school property. "They are quiet, private people." Lancaster County District Attorney Don Totaro said, "It's beyond comprehension that anyone would slaughter children in this manner."...http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-10-03-amish-seclusion_x.htm?csp=34

Two U.S. and one Afghan soldiers were killed in fighting in eastern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said Tuesday. Three U.S. soldiers also were wounded in Monday evening's "fighting with enemy combatants in the Pech District of Kunar Province," a U.S. military statement said. ...http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2520023

Gunbattles erupted Monday night between Fatah gunmen and Hamas militiamen in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, killing two people and wounding 14 a day after a deadly explosion of internal violence paralyzed the Gaza Strip.The fighting was the latest in a series of sporadic battles over the past two days as tensions remained high between the two groups. Fatah militants enforced a general strike in many West Bank towns in a show of strength against Hamas, while the Hamas-led government ordered all ministries closed to protest Fatah attacks on government buildings.But there was less violence Monday compared to the chaos and running street battles that killed eight people and wounded 100 others across Gaza a day earlier.In an effort to reduce friction, Hamas pulled its militiamen out of Gaza's major streets Monday and sent them back to their posts....http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/03/ap/world/mainD8KGRADG0.shtml

Four years ago, Canadian Maher Arar was detained on a routine airport stopover in the United States. He ended up Syria, where he was imprisoned and tortured for 10 months.When he was released by the Syrians and returned to Canada, he started asking how he had been targeted as an Islamist terrorist. His search for answers has made him into a national celebrity, and is likely to end with an apology from the prime minister himself. Late last month, a public inquiry cleared him of any connection to terrorism and criticised the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) for feeding American officials misleading information about him. Last week, RCMP commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli finally offered Mr Arar a full apology: "I wish to take this opportunity to express publicly to you and to your wife and to your children how truly sorry I am for whatever part the actions of the RCMP may have contributed to the terrible injustices that you experienced and the pain that you and your family endured."...http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,,1885684,00.html